Zoso. So Surreal.

Come Sit with Me. Come Drink with Me. Come Play with Me. It's not an illusion. It's just a really cool place. Hotel Zoso - Dig it.

Sweet Dreams...

Yes we can shoot a wine bottle on white. Yes we can shoot a portrait of a man. Yes we can shoot a hotel bedroom. But, what we love to do is take our everyday photo assignment and turn it into something special. Art, if you will. The same 'ole, same 'ole will get you stuck in a rut, unable to expand your creative horizons. So, we step out of the box and try to see our everyday in an amazing new way.

We like to keep dreaming.

SNEAK PREVIEW!

If you are one of the lucky few who read our blog, you will be thrilled to get a sneak preview of our upcoming promotional book, a Winter Cookbook (title to be released when Heather thinks of it)! In collaboration with the dynamic duo, Denise and Cindy of Food Fanatics, we decided that we wanted to do a project for ourselves, with ourselves as boss. It's all the recipes that the girls have created in their genius brains' and shot exactly the way that we think it should be shot. We call it "playing" in the photography world. Incredibly exciting after a year filled with doing projects for our clients, this one is all for Us! And if you're thinking, "Wow, I can't wait to get my hands on one of those spectacular books!", don't worry, we will be making them available to you when they are finished. But wait, there's more! Since this project has gotten our creative juices flowing once again, we have decided to make it a series. Yes, one for each Season. Lucky You!

We will let you know when it's complete, so go ahead and get your apron on and cooking pots dusted off...

Can I take your order please

Very excited to not be looking at, photographing or eating turkey anymore, we were in studio today taking beauty shots of different cuts of RED meat. Yum. Yum. Yum. Simple white plates with minimal garnishes, these steaks and chops would entice even the most adamant of vegetarians. No joke. With gorgeous light and superior food styling (the girls have been up to their elbows in raw meat all day) these scrumptious cuts are going to jump off the page! Which cut will you have?

They don't make them like they used to.

On our last trip to Atlanta, we had the chance to stay at the historic Georgian Terrace Hotel. Famously it is known for being the place where Arthur Murray, while still in college, started teaching dancing classes in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. As well, the Georgian was where they held the movie Gone With the Wind's Gala event. All the famous stars of the day were in attendance! Sadly, this gorgeous hotel fell to rack and ruin due to declining revenues, and in the 80's it was boarded up and considered condemned. Yet luckily for us (and our quest to always stay in amazing places) it found itself on the National Register of Historic Places due to being part of the "Fox Theater District" and was revitalized, first into luxury apartments then back into a splendid hotel. Since it was built back in 1910, the windows in each of the rooms opens outward (have you been in a modern hotel lately where the windows even Opened?) to give you an amazing view of the city below. Gazing upon our grand view of the city of Atlanta, it made us not feel so bad after missing a great playoff ball game that day. Such sights to behold!

Style One Gummy Bear, Eat One Gummy Bear...

You can never eat just one.... Go ahead, we double-dog-dare you...

photo courtesy of Heather Winters

Learning new things, every day...

Trying to remember which airport we were flying out of, and keeping in mind where we parked the car, we hopped on yet another jet plane and flew, once again, up to the lovely city of Seattle. Out of all of the places we have been lately, Milwaukee, Fort Worth, and Washington, DC, Seattle is one of our favorites. The weather stayed perfect right up until we tried to load our camera and lighting equipment in the back of the rental car to head home. Murphy's Law says that's the time it starts raining. Go figure. Despite that, we worked our tails off and got home without shorting out any electrical equipment and ending up with some really fantastic new casino/resort shots!

We had the chance to piggy-back our DSLR camera on top of the video crew's camera and get some cool shots using the giant camera arm called the Jib. Three extension cords later, we saw our camera raised over twenty feet in the air and hoped that the tech guy had mounted it securely. Shooting from our computer, we got several shots around the resort that wouldn't have been possible for us without a really, really big ladder (and someone not afraid of heights).

Things we learned: how to work a still camera (that you can't look through) while on a moving arm, that not all food buffets are equal, the fastest way from one end of a casino to the other, and that people do weird stuff in hotel rooms.

Good to know.

Who's da Man!

Besides us...

The Shrimp Pimp! Climbing onto the bandwagon, or in this case the Food Truck craze, of selling food from the side of a truck, our good friend Neil Macleod has gained instant popularity with his shrimp truck called the Shrimp Pimp. He's a cool guy with a tasty product. Not only do the urbanites love his Po Boys, Drunken Shrimp Tacos and Shrimp & Chips, but so do the celebrities! The truck was recently featured on the Rachael Ray Show!

Even though we've been in the photography business for over 30 years, we still get a thrill from seeing our pictures printed, published and promoted. We got the chance to shoot the images that wrap the truck as well as some beauty shots of some of the truck's signature dishes. And as a special thank you, the "Pimp" whipped up extra tacos and po boys for us to eat! There IS a reason that we went into food advertising...

Check out our pictures and what the Shrimp Pimp is all about at his website shrimppimp.com. And if you need to satisfy that seafood craving that you're having right about now, you can find out where the "Pimp" is parked by following them on twitter @ShrimpPimpTruck.

"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up"

Shrimp. The new sex symbol. Ok, so maybe they aren't in the same category as Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, or Cameron Diaz, but these little ladies are working their own magic. These tiny red-heads are making it to the big leagues and will be gracing the panels of the best Food Truck around the town. Look for the "Shrimp Pimp"!! You wait. You watch. You're gonna say Wow.

Move over Ms. Swanson, we're painting the town Shrimp Red and taking it over.

It's a lot of work to be both.

Did you know that the tomato is Ohio's official state fruit? And confusingly, it has also been celebrated as the official state vegetable for New Jersey. We'd all love to have such popularity! I mean the strawberry is never fought over this much. Laws have been passed because of this enigmatic orb! Song have been written! It's got it's own slang term!

Let's all take a moment to celebrate the duality of the tomato. Many strive to cross boundaries and live in two worlds but never achieve such success and infamy.

Don't worry. We're working hard, for You.

Even though it's the middle of summer, we like to think ahead to fall and all the delicious foods that come out during that time of year. In studio with one of our best friends, Trader Joes, we shot some tummy warming products that will sure to be a hit when they land on the shelves. Yes, we go to the trouble, for all of you out there, to taste test these tasty treats just to make sure that you are getting something good. No thanks needed. We do it because we care.

The Boys are Back!

Today we got to work with a few of the fellas that we haven't seen in awhile. Tasty images and good golf talk. Our favorite kind of work day. And when the 3 o'clock slump hit, Marti plied us with a "redneck" dessert tray! (Snickers bars, mini ice-cream cups, and Donettes; a regular sugar smorgasbord). Hello Haliburton!

Cheesy Sausages and something about Mary...

After her recent trip abroad, Marti was back with us today to take care of Jamie's sausages. They were definitely cheesy and she did her best to find the hidden surprises that each flavor possessed, getting quite messy in the process. A stylist's job is never easy... We constantly marvel at her abundant talents. Thanks Marti, you're a variable sausage master, (and your patties aren't bad either!).

Hey Tryptophan grab me a pillow!

Today we've been surrounded by turkeys. Half cooked, fully-cooked and the kind that tell bad jokes and point out every phallic symbol happening in the food pictures. Quite a day! Now, you can tell when a food stylist has been working for a long time when they wonder aloud, "I don't think I've ever cooked a turkey all the way through... I wonder how long you cook one so that you can eat it?". Um ya. I'm not eating that one.

Ice cream cone to the rescue!

How many bakers does it take to bake a pie? Well we know that it takes 3 culinary professionals to make 1 piece of pie for a photo shoot...

The napkin queens were back today, telling us for the "second" time that this was the "last" time that we'd be doing napkin fold photos. Uh huh. So in between the flying napkins we glorified fish stew and had a mini war with an apple pie. Whew! We did get some tantalizing shots of some mini tarts and after several tries we finally got two perfect citrus souffles to sit nicely for their close-ups. With a visit from the "potato boys" we remember that not all photography needs to be serious photography. Sometimes it's just fun to make silly pictures.

Things we've learned today, 1) That no matter what you do, stew still looks like stew. 2) Girls get even more girly when you get sparkly jewelry out. And, 3) Ice cream cones make people happy. That and a shot of tequila.

"I'm looking for a Fortune, not a Lecture."

Did you know that there is a difference between Chinese and Japanese chopsticks?

We hope that most people don't because we like to use what looks best in our photography! Our newest friends gave us the freedom to do our best magic and we took chinese chicken to a new level! I think that there was a run on orange chicken in the Los Angeles area with everyone from the shoot wanting chinese delivery for dinner. As a food photographer that's a huge compliment, when people are considering dinner even before lunch just because of the images that come up on the screen. Triumph!

I guess our fortune was right... "Keep your expectations reasonable". Do you want to eat that because of my picture? Expectation met. Goodie.

Say Hello to my little friends!

Ahhh... Old friends, old jokes and a whole ton of shrimp. No, I have not gone on vacation again (although the amount of shots we did in two days makes it seem like a vacation!), our long time friend Contessa was in studio today. We grooved to the 80's tunes while Norman played with his tiny friends, making sure they were all "picture perfect". Although after the 5th shrimp dish we started to feel a bit like Bubba. Tequila lime shrimp, alfredo shrimp, spinach and shrimp...

How many ways are there to serve shrimp? Well Contessa outta know.